Lamborghini Americas CEO Andrea Baldi attends Sept. 7 and 8 ribbon cutting for the redesigned Lamborghini San Diego showroom
Lamborghini debuted the new corporate identity and brand environment at Lamborghini San Diego, at 7440 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla, Calif. (Lamborghini photo)
VIP event follows record half-year sales for 2022
BY MARK MAYNARD
Lamborghini Americas CEO Andrea Baldi was in San Diego on Sept. 7 and 8 for the ribbon cutting of the redesigned Lamborghini San Diego showroom (O’Gara Coach) in La Jolla, Calif.
The new design aesthetic “affirms the brand’s commitment to its customers and new design direction for the future,” Lamborghini said in a statement.
The 4,430 square-foot retail space is more boutique than a typical automotive showroom, but Lamborghini’s presence is unmistakable. Like all Lamborghini models, the architectural treatment is thoroughly modern with polygonal geometric shapes, sharp forms, and diffused light and color.
The 4,430-square-foot retail space has a 360-degree client experience. (Mark Maynard photo)
Corporate Identity
The design treatment is in accordance with Lamborghini’s corporate identity, said San Diego Lamborghini General Manager Joe DeSantis. “All the U.S. dealers will have a similar look with consistent styling aspects.”
The exclusive event by VIP invitation drew around 120 potential intenders and showcased several special models. The new Urus Performante was displayed following its global debut last month at Monterey Car Week. Also showcased was the Pikes Peak record-breaking Urus in orange-and-black camo paint, still in its as-raced condition since the 100th mountain run in late June. Also on view were a Huracán Tecnica, in the electric green paint of Verde Selvan, and a Huracan STO (Super Trofeo Omologata), a street-drivable race car in a lighter shade of Verde Aries. Details below.
The showroom includes an array of lifestyle accessories. (Mark Maynard photo)
Also open for perusing was the Ad Personam customization room. The space features bespoke options for paint colors, leathers, wheels, and carbon fiber accents. The idea is to have car buyers physically touch and play with combinations of colors and materials.
In the main show space are Lamborghini’s Collezione and Accessori Originali fashion offerings. Anyone can shop for clothing, lifestyle accessories, luggage, and collectibles like diecast Lamborghini models.
Introducing CEO Andrea Baldi
Andrea Baldi, 46, almost 47, was appointed last August as CEO of Automobili Lamborghini Americas. He is responsible for the company’s commercial operations in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. Among the region, there are 48 Lamborghini dealers.
He lives in Maryland within distance of the VW Group headquarters in Herndon, Va., and Washington, D.C. He is married with two daughters, ages 17 and 9. Baldi grew up in Bologna, Italy, near Lamborghini and Ducati manufacturing in Sant’Agata Bolognese.
Lamborghini Americas CEO Andrea Baldi. (Mark Maynard photo)
He began his career with Ducati (a VW Group subsidiary) and has had work stints in New York and at Ducati’s U.S. headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., per an interview in Robb Report
He moved with his family to Shanghai, China, in 2008, where he was responsible for sales in the Asia Pacific market.
Baldi joined Lamborghini in 2010 and relocated to Singapore and then Beijing as the general manager for mainland China and, soon, all of Asia Pacific. In 2018, his career with Lamborghini advanced, managing a second region, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Supply Chain Shortages
“I’ve been extremely lucky,” Baldi said. “Demand is above supply, and it is demand we have never seen.”
His biggest challenge today is keeping customers engaged until new Lamborghinis become available.
The United States continues as Lamborghini’s No. 1 market globally, with 1,521 vehicles delivered in the first half of 2022. Within the brand’s top region, California is the best performing market, representing 23 percent of total U.S. sales, followed by Florida at 15 percent.
But will the momentum continue? At this time, there are no new Lamborghinis for sale in any dealership in the U.S., Baldi said in an interview at the San Diego dealership opening. And worse, the shortage of new Lamborghinis is expected to last for the next 1 ½ to 2 years. Dealerships are buying up preowned vehicles to resell.
The lack of available new models has less to do with the microchip shortage and has more to due with the demand being so high, said dealership GM DeSantis in an email. “The Lamborghini models are in such high demand that our current waitlist for new vehicles is anywhere from 1-2 years, depending on the model.”
Lamborghini San Diego General Manager Joe DeSantis receives a grand-opening silhouette model from Lamborghini CEO Americas Andrea Baldi and signed by Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann. (Mark Maynard photo)
Lamborghini Electrification
The Italian manufacturer of supercars is at a shift point of change. Baldi said that the company is in its last year of selling only pure combustion engines in its sports cars. According to Automotive News, Lamborghini has allocated $1.7 billion for the shift to plug-in hybrids.
The iconic brand of super sports cars will launch its first hybrid model, possibly a plug-in, in 2023 as it moves to electrify its entire lineup by 2025. And with that electrification, Baldi said there would be a full battery-electric Urus SUV by 2028.
While Lamborghini is hybridizing its lineup, the company is celebrating the combustion engine to its end, Baldi said: “For a Lamborghini buyer, it is less about the price and more about value.”
New Lamborghini Models
Huracán Tecnica
The Huracan Tecnica, in Verde Aries paint. (Mark Maynard photo)
The Tecnica is the latest evolution of the V10-powered Huracan since the nameplate debuted in 2014. The 640-hp, rear-wheel drive car with rear-wheel steering can accelerate to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds. Pricing starts at $239,000.
Huracan STO
a Huracan STO (Super Trofeo Omologata), a street-drivable race car in a lighter shade of Verde Aries. (Mark Maynard photo)
Beneath its somewhat familiar exterior is an all-new street-homologated race car. The Lamborghini Huracán STO — Super Trofeo Omologata — is a collaboration with Lamborghini Squadra Corse’s one-make race series with Huracán Super Trofeo EVO. It has technical features of rear-wheel drive, rear-wheel steering, a wider wheel track, and Lamborghini’s MagneRide 2.0 suspension.
Its 5.2-liter V-10 engine produces 640 horsepower and 417 foot-pounds of peak torque at 6,500 rpm. Lamborghini says that the Huracan STO will accelerate to 62 mph in 3 seconds.
With an aluminum and carbon fiber body, the Huracan STO has a dry curb weight of 2,951 pounds. (Carbon fiber is used in more than 75 percent of its exterior panels, Lamborghini says.) Pricing starts at $327,838.
Urus Performante
The Pikes Peak record-breaking Lamborghini Urus, still in its as-raced condition since the 100th mountain run in late June. (Mark Maynard photo)
Lamborghini’s big SUV recently tackled the 156 bends of Pikes Peak in 10:32.064, beating the previous 2018 record set by the Bentley Bentayga (10:49.902) by 17.838 seconds. The Urus Performante is wider, lower, and almost 104 pounds lighter for competition. Some light-weighting comes from using a sophisticated steel suspension rather than the standard air suspension. And with a body comprised of aluminum and composite materials, including a lot of carbon fiber, the Performante has a dry weight of 4,739 pounds.
The Performante’s uprated, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine has 627 hp and 627 lb.-ft. torque from 2,300-4,500 rpm. With all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission, Lamborghini cites 0-62 mph acceleration in 3 seconds. Pricing for the 2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante starts in the U.S. at $260,676, excluding the shipping fee and gas guzzler tax. However, Baldi said there is a 1 ½-year wait for Urus Performante, and its limited production will be sold in just a few weeks.
Learn more about Lamborghini here. Contact Lamborghini San Diego here. And read more Lamborghini reports in Maynard’s Garage.
